Music In The Attic
by sweetthings8
Summary: Sakura Haruno, a Sophomore in High school, is dealing with the stress all alone after the separation of her parents. Trapped in a house with her abusive father, Sakura has only one thing to keep her alive. Her music.   BEING REWRITTEN  Gaara x Sakura gaa
1. Music In The Attic

Sakura's eyes snapped open and she froze in practiced ease, listening for the dragging of feet. Hearing nothing she pulled her face away from the floor, grimacing as her smooth flesh stuck to the floor: her blood being the bond.

Sakura crawled over to her dresser and grabbed clothing and began limping toward the bathroom. Now, in front of a mirror she examined her face, her father hadn't been merciful. Her face was a mess with cuts and the blood had dried on her face and in her hair.

Sakura sighed and stepped into the shower, tapping the water as hot as it would go.

Sakura slowly made her way up to her room, which was, in her defense, an _organized_ mess. She still hadn't finished unpacking. And already she was yearning to return to her home, MANY miles away.

Sakura sat in front of her vanity and applied a covering of makeup, fading her cuts into nothing.

Sakura grabbed her purse and walked carefully down the stairs, the front door had been oiled by her, so it wouldn't squeak, through it she went.

Sakura followed her feet and soon she passed the music store. She checked her purse, her father hadn't taken any of the money out yet, which left her with $1,000 to spend.

Pushing the door open Sakura walked over to the 'New Release' side of the store and waited for the people in front of her to finish. She smiled and grabbed the latest album by One Republic.

Sakura looked around and walked over to the piano on display. She spun around on the seat and stroked the keys of the instrument. She played a scale and was happy to see that the piano was in tune.

Sakura looked around self consciously and saw only three people; a timid looking girl with navy blue hair was strumming a bass, a blonde with four pig-tails was playing chords on a guitar and a brunette was keeping a subtle beat on the drums she sat at.

Sakura turned back around and began playing Apologize. In a matter of seconds she recognized the guitar part come in, bass soon followed, and the drums came in hesitantly, as if not knowing the song.

Sakura smiled at the piano and began singing the song, quietly at first and then louder until her voice echoed off the walls.

When the song was finished Sakura stood up and the four girls exchanged congratulations on a cover well-done.

"I'm Sabaku No Temari." The blonde one said, the silver Stratocaster was swung over her back.

"This is Hyuga Hinata and Inari Tenten." The blonde followed up, pointing to the Navy and then the brunette.

"I'm Haruno Sakura, I just moved here from America." Sakura said happily.

"You know what? You have the chops and the fingers to be in a band, and I'm looking for a lead singer. And it would be nice in the conquering of my brother and his stupid little band. " Temari said staring at Sakura's pink hair.

Sakura ran a hand through her hair. "Uh, I guess I could, sure." She said unsurely.

Temari screamed happily and tacklehugged Sakura.

For another few minutes the girls talked, discussing bands and artists they would most likely die without.

Sakura slipped out her phone and checked the time.

"Y-you guys I really have to get going!" Sakura said quickly stuffing her purchase (the CD) and her cell phone into her purse. The girls exchanged numbers quickly and Sakura took off at a run for her house.

As Sakura ran into the house she heard her father stumbling about in the basement. Sakura bolted up the stairs and shoved her purse, with all its inhabitants into the space underneath a loose floorboard, Sakura checked to make sure it didn't squeak and grabbed a blanket, and hid in her closet.

Sakura pressed herself securely against the back of the closet, throwing the blanket over her, pushing herself fruitlessly against the wall.

To her surprise the wall gave way and she fell backwards into an extension of the house. All sound in the house stopped, Sakura's heart began hammering and suddenly the sound of pounding feet rang through the house, her dad was coming up.

Sakura stepped back and pushed the piece of wood back into place and latched it. Sakura stared at the latches for a moment and froze when she heard her door squeak open and her father's heavy footfalls enter the room.

After about 20 minutes her father grunted and left the room, locking it behind him. Sakura sighed and turned around, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. A bulky object was pushed against the far wall, Sakura walked over to it and she nearly screamed.

A grand piano was covered with a tarp, Sakura threw the tarp off and her fingers stroked, they itched to play on the instrument but Sakura knew her father would came back in, angrier then ever. Sakura exited the hidden room reluctantly and checked her room. Her father had left.

Sakura threw herself onto her bed and fell asleep.


	2. Can anyone save me?

In the morning Sakura got ready for her first day of school at Konaha High. After showering in record breaking time, Sakura dressed in a Star Wars T-shirt and applied enough make up to cover her battered face.

Grabbing her purse from under the floor board, Sakura rumbled down the stairs and grabbed her keys from the hook on the wall by the door; picking up her checkered back pack, Sakura was ready to go to school. Opening the garage door, Sakura grabbed a helmet and a faded leather jacket.

Swinging her legs over her motorcycle, Sakura revved the engine and peeled out of her drive way. The ride to school was uneventful but when Sakura pulled into the school parking lot she whistled in awe. The school was huge and judging the mostly new cars in the parking lot, it was stuffed full of rich kids.

Leaving her bike behind, Sakura entered the school and headed to her locker #B156 in D hall. Opening the locker, Sakura stored her helmet and slammed it shut. Spinning around, Sakura ran into a broad chest and quite suddenly, two arms were clasped around her upper arms.

Shutting her eyes on instinct, Sakura braced herself for the assault she was expecting. Opening her eyes when nothing happened, Sakura was looking into two onyx eyes.

"Hello there, I'm Sasuke Uchiha." The boy in front of her had a smirk that she was tempted to punch off his face. His blue-black hair seemed to defy gravity and Sakura giggled when a sudden picture of a chickens arse appeared in her head. The two were quite similar after all.

"If you would remove your hands from my arms, Chicken-teme, I'd be much obliged." Sakura said everything in English except for 'chicken-teme.' A confused look covered his face and Sakura walked away quickly.

Finding her next class a few minutes after the bell rang, Sakura entered a classroom full of noise; walking up to the teacher, Sakura explained how she was a transfer and the teacher gave her a textbook and sent her to sit next to 'Gaara.' Gaara was the rather sexy redhead sitting in the back row with his feet braced against the wall.

Gaara looked her over from head to toe and smirked in a not-so-annoying-I-want-to-punch-you kind of way. They talked idly for a few minutes about America before the class was called to attention.

While the teacher droned on, Sakura looked around the room, she recognized three people right away Hinata, Tenten and Temari sat on the far left side of the room. They looked at her throughout the class period and Sakura waved at them, making them smile.

When the class period was over, Gaara bolted out of the room and Sakura went over to the girls. Hinata was preoccupied with a hyper blond boy with three whiskers on either side of his face sitting next to her to pay any attention, Tenten was in a deep conversation with a lean long-haired boy about basses, and Temari was busy punching a pineapple-headed boy who had a perverted smirk on his face.

Clearing her throat, the three girls turned around and smiled at her. "Sakura; let me introduce you to Naruto, Neji and Shikamaru." The three boys waved shyly and the girls rolled their eyes. "Why were you late to class?" Temari asked.

"I got lost twice and some chicken headed teme had me pinned against a locker." Sakura explained.

They all left the classroom and met up in the commons, leaning against the lockers they talked for a while before the lunchroom doors opened. Gaara walked up to Temari and smiled. "Ah, Sakura, this is my brother Gaara. You sat next to him in last hour." Sakura nodded in his direction.

"Well, I thought I should let you know, I wrote a song for us to practice… if you're interested, it's really not that good…" Sakura finished quickly, feeling embarrassed as they all stared at her. Temari raised an eyebrow. "You already finished a song? Geeze, Sakura!"

"I started composing the song while I was still in America." Sakura explained, pulling a manila envelope from her back pack. Handing out parts, Sakura explained about the song. "It's called Face Down; I'm still developing the story of it though… I didn't attack the lyrics yet… still working on those too."

For a few minutes the girls looked over their parts. Tenten was patting a rhythm out on her leg and Temari was picking at an imaginary guitar. "This sounds awesome, is there a place we can practice tonight?" Hinata asked. Temari faced Gaara. "Is your band practicing tonight? If you are, can we trade off half way so my band can practice?" Gaara gave Sakura a sideways glance. "Yeah, that would be fine. Let's all head over now."

Grabbing Sakura's hand and a sharpie Gaara wrote his address on her hand. "1845 Yuuki District. You guys live next to me!" Sakura exclaimed in shock. They all began walking to the parking lot. "Then you just follow us, okay? What kind of a car do you have?" Gaara asked.

Sakura pulled her helmet from her bag and smiled at him. "I have an r1 Yamaha." Gaara raised his eyebrow and nodded in approval. Sakura strapped on her pinstriped helmet as they all piled into their cars, revving her engine, Sakura smiled and backed out of her parking place.

Gaara's silver Dodge Ram took the lead followed by Tenten's P.O.S. car. The temperature was perfect for bike riding and Sakura was upset when they pulled into Temari's driveway.

Locking her motorcycle in her garage, Sakura walked back to Temari's and they all went inside together. Heading directly to the basement, Sakura was shocked to see a mini recording studio set up.

For the first 2 hours that Sakura was there Gaara's band practiced, Gaara had a warm voice and Sakura enjoyed it.

When their turn rolled around, Sakura settled in front of the piano and played a few chords to warm herself up. While the girls warmed themselves up, Sakura pulled the notebook with the lyrics in it out and placed it in front of her.

"I'm not going to be singing the whole time; I don't have all the lyrics finished yet." Waiting for their cue, the girls waited until Tenten gave it. 

Hey, girl, you know you drive me crazy  
one look puts the rhythm in my hand.  
Still I'll never understand why you hang around  
I see what's going down.

Cover up with makeup in the mirror  
tell yourself, it's never gonna happen again  
You cry alone and then he swears he loves you.

Do you feel like a man when you push her around?  
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?

I see the way you go and say you're right again,  
say you're right again  
Heed my lecture.

Do you feel like a man when you push her around?  
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?  
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end  
as your lies crumble down, a new life she has...

One day she will tell you that she has had enough  
It's coming round again.

Face down in the dirt, she said,  
"This doesn't hurt", she said,  
"I finally had enough.


	3. The Race

Leaving everyone behind with a plea for the restroom, Sakura bolted for the stairs. Muttering to herslef in English, Sakura quickly ascended the stairs and stumbled into the hallway. Peeking into a few of the rooms with caution, she was happy to find the restroom on her 15th try.

Swinging the door shut behind her, Sakura quickly pulled up her shirt and unwrapped the bandage that bound her broken ribs. Sakura hissed in pain and examined the purple, yellow and black bruise the exact size of her father's foot that stretched from just under her right breast to the bottom of her ribs.

Wrapping the brace back around her broken ribs, Sakura rummaged around the bathroom until she found a wash rag and dampened it under the water. Wiping the foundation off of her heavily covered face, she grabbed a sedative cream from her purse and smoothed it over the bruises the littered her porcelain skin.

* * *

"Hey, Gaara; go help Sakura find the bathroom, you know how big the house is." Temari said from her place on the couch as she tuned her guitar. Gaara grumbled and trudged up the stairs and walked down the hall to the bathroom, a light shone in the hall through the slightly cracked bathroom door.

Hearing Sakura hiss Gaara approached the door and peeked in, praying he wasn't going to see anything inappropriate. A blush worked its way up his neck when he saw Sakura standing in the bathroom with her shirt pulled up. As she undid the wrapping around her ribs Gaara gasped, the bruises on her ribs were disrupted by protruding broken ribs.

Backing up against the opposite wall he began breathing hard, Gaara clutched his chest, an unfamiliar pinch was bothering him. Watching even longer, Gaara was shocked to see her wipe a thick layer of foundation off her face, revealing yet more bruises.

Snarling inwardly, Gaara was bothered by the thought that someone would actually strike Sakura. Composing his face as she headed toward the door, he noted the look of shock on her face as she noticed he was standing there.

"W-what are you doing up here?" she asked, playing the 'You were peeping on me' card. Gaara made an 'Hn' noise from his throat and motioned for her to follow him back downstairs. Sakura studied Gaara, he couldn't have seen her wounds, he would have said something… Right?

As they padded into the basement, they noted the dimmed lights and the feeling of tension in the air. Sakura peeked around the corner to the movie area in another room in the basement. The girls were sitting with their respective guys and commercials were playing on the large screen.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked, Temari's face had paled and she wasn't talking,a rare moment for the blonde. Temari laughed humorlessly and looked over at Shikamaru. "It was the guy's night to choose a movie, so we're going to be watching Saw IV."

Sakura paled herself; she had never done well with gore and suspense movies, trying to act as if it didn't bother her, she took a seat next to Gaara and sunk into the plush couch. As Hinata chose an option on the DVD menu with a shaking hand, she turned into Naruto's embrace and placed her head on his chest. A perverted smile worked its way across his face and he pulled her into his lap.

The movie began… BAM! The first scene; a carcass with the rib cage ripped in two hung from a warehouse ceiling. Sakura bit her lower lip and crawled into Gaara's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck she didn't care if he thought ill of her. On the contrary, a small smirk crossed his face and he wrapped his arms loosely around her waist.

The movie ended soon enough and Sakura had fallen asleep in Gaara's arms, her face resting on his collarbone. Gaara shook her awake and she mewed in disapproval. Gaara stood and swept her into the air. Snapping her eyes open Sakura woke with a start and pulled herself closer to Gaara with a gasp. "Bully!" she muttered, standing on her own. Checking the time on her phone Sakura paled.

"My dad… he's going to be home soon." Sakura said backing out of the room, the truth was that if she didn't get home before her father he'd find her and beat her. Everyone gave her an awkward goodbye and Gaara tried walking her to her house.

Seeing as Gaara wasn't about to take no for an answer, Sakura forced a deep kiss on him, hoping to shock him enough that he'd forget and he fell for it; hook, line and sinker.

Rushing home, blushing like a mad woman, Sakura stampeded up the stairs hoping to find refuge from her father. Her father's car pulled into the drive just as she shut the front door behind her, her father jumped from the car and stumbled drunkenly into the house in hot pursuit of his daughter.

Gaara, seeing all of this, rushed up to his room to get a better look. As he pulled up the curtain on his own window her noted Sakura's room across from his, lit. Sakura was pulling something from her closet when her father rushed into the room. Although Gaara couldn't hear anything, he saw the rage on her father's face as he grabbed his daughter around the throat and threw her against the window.

Gaara clutched the sill of his window and watched in mute horror as Sakura let out a shrill scream as her father kicked her in the ribs again and again. Unable to watch any more, Gaara let the curtains fall back into place and he fell back on to his bed. Blinking and shaking his head, he tried convincing himself that it was a dream; that he would wake up on the couch with Sakura in his arms, safe and sound.


End file.
